Now you're cooking, Health Department

Published 10:12 pm, Wednesday, March 20, 2013

The new rules governing the vending of prepared foods at farmers markets like this one at the Alamo Quarry Market still have to be approved by the City Council.

The new rules governing the vending of prepared foods at farmers markets like this one at the Alamo Quarry Market still have to be approved by the City Council.

Photo: John Davenport / San Antonio Express-News

Now you're cooking, Health Department

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The city health department presented a third iteration of a proposal to regulate food cooked to order at local farmers markets Wednesday, and it was the charm.

The new proposal, which San Antonio's Governance Committee unanimously sent to the City Council for approval, cuts the cost of the temporary food permit required to cook onsite by about two-thirds, removes the previous four-per-year limit on the number of permits a vendor can buy and extends the length of time the permit is effective from a single day to one month.

F. David Lent, founder of the Quarry Farmers & Ranchers Market, had rejected the last proposal earlier this month as being too expensive but liked this one — especially the cut in the cost of the permit.

“It's a number we can live with,” Lent said. “I think it shows definitely an interest on the part of City Council to make us one of the forerunners in pricing, which is good.”

The new proposals would redo regulations that went into effect Jan. 1 and angered many market operators and vendors, who complained they were expensive, hamstrung their business and hampered efforts to cultivate San Antonio's food culture.

Previously, vendors were charged $30.90 per day for a temporary food permit, which added up to more than $1,600 for vendors who operate one day a week for a full year.

The new pricing in this latest proposal, $45 per vendor per location per month, drops that yearly cost to $556.20 (including a 3 percent development services fee).

By comparison, the cost to sell cooked-to-order food once a week in Dallas is $550 per year, according to figures compiled by the health department, $1,960 in Austin (where fees also are under review) and $3,640 in Houston.

The new proposal also would remove the four-event-per-year limit on temporary food establishment permits — but only for vendors selling at an established farmers market. They now would be able to buy as many permits as they want.

Finally, under the new rules, permits would have to be obtained through the event coordinator, such as the farmers market manager. Previously vendors had to obtain their own permits.

The City Council tentatively is scheduled to consider the proposal during its April 11 meeting.